Truck Laws & Regulations

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced this week that it will undertake two important studies to examine how wait times and driver pay affect driver behavior.  The first study will look at how long waiting times at shippers’ docks affect truck drivers, particularly in relation to their ability to adhere to the Hours-of-Service regulations…   Read More

The Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced recently that another round of fraudulent USDOT letters dated March 16, 2012, are circulating among motor carriers. According to the DOT announcement, the letter mimics the “U.S. Department of Transportation Procurement Office” official logo and is signed by a fictitious name…   Read More

We have reported several times on the dangers an alcohol or drug-impaired tractor-trailer driver can cause to himself and others on the highway.  One study by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) found that prescription drug use alone is an “associated factor” in 28.7% of all U.S. truck accidents. Now, in an effort to…   Read More

Yet another commercial trucking company has been ordered to shut down as “an imminent threat to public safety.” On Monday, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration ordered New Jersey-based J&A Transportation, Inc. to shut down its operations. The reason for the out-of-service order? Government officials found multiple hours-of-service, driver and vehicle…   Read More

According to a March 30 press release, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has ordered Utah-based Reliable Transportation Services, Inc. to immediately cease all transportation services. The trucking company and its principal were declared an imminent hazard to public safety, according to the FMCSA website. A review of the company’s…   Read More

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a new report showing that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) current new entrant screenings fail to detect “chameleon” carriers–those carriers that assume new identities to avoid detection after their authority was revoked or denied.  Unfortunately, this failure results in truck accidents, serious injuries and even fatalities…   Read More

Scranton, PA, February 23, 2012 — Pennsylvania tractor-trailer accident lawyer Daniel W. Munley, chairman of the American Association of Justice’s Trucking Litigation Group, today applauded a Congressional committee’s move to kill part of a bill that would have reduced trucking safety on the nation’s highways. “Proposals in the bill under consideration would have increased allowable…   Read More

New government recommendations are targeting drowsy truck drivers with sleep apnea. In the name of safety, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has issued 11 recommendations to the Department of Transportation (DOT) to remove or limit drivers with sleep apnea. The agency argues that drivers with interrupted sleep are more likely to cause fatigue-related collisions and…   Read More

Truck safety advocates had a reason to celebrate recently when the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee voted against a truck weight limit increase.  The move, in a close and rare bipartisan vote, means a weight increase must be studied for safety and impact before another vote can occur. “With a nine percent increase in truck…   Read More

The use of technology can help cut the two main sources of violations for truck drivers: speeding and log violations. According to truckinginfo.com, many carriers saw a drop in their government safety ratings when new standards were introduced in 2010.Technology vendors claim they can improve safety scores by automating truck speed and log monitoring. “The…   Read More